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Paths to Peace Article; 3rd Anniversary WIB Frederick;
Women in Israel and Militarism; 2000th Death; National March to End the War;
Cindy Sheehan; Hiroshima Day; UN Day of Peace; 9 /11 Observance;
Peace Propoganda and Promised Land;
Counter-recruitment Initiative; Expansion of Biodefense at Ft Detrick;
2005 Mother's Day and Colombia;
Women in Black Frederick Paths to Peace Article.
Paths to Peace is a weekly column, appearing in the Religion section on Saturdays, featuring local people speaking about their Path to Peace. It is sponsored by the Peace Resource Center. All previous columns have featured the voice of only one person. When our vigil was approached to write an article we said that no one person could speak for our vigil, as it is a representation of all of our voices. We were given permission to include multiple voices in our article. We wrote to the email list soliciting responses and the article printed below is the compilation of the responses we received. The column appeared on Saturday, December 10th, 2005 Page B-7. Voices in Peaceful Silence
A fuller expression of the voices of the vigil appears on our page WIB Speak Out.
Third Anniversary for WIB Frederick.
Three years of witnessing for peace and justice in Frederick.
Women In Black Frederick’s inaugural vigil took place on Nov. 29, 2002, which was the Friday after Thanksgiving. This day each year has become known as “Black Friday”, the date when retailers go from “red ink” deficits to “black ink” positive sales. It has been labeled the day when Americans buy more consumer goods than any other day of the year. It seemed an appropriate date to inaugurate our local Women In Black vigil by calling attention to the spiritual and societal cost of unchecked consumption.
In honoring our 3rd year anniversary, we’d like to say thank you to all who have supported our vigil. Some of you have been with us from our beginning days, and we especially thank you for your loyalty and commitment to the vigil. We also joyfully welcome new participants to the vigil. Just a reminder that there are many ways to get involved with Women In Black Frederick, at whatever level is comfortable for you, and even if you are unable to attend vigils. We appreciate all forms of support … moral, spiritual, financial, etc. Receiving our emails and forwarding them on to others is one simple form of support.
Here are some ways to help: How to Help
Our birthday wish for our vigil is that we will continue to grow in numbers, and in ways that enriches each of us who participate and our community, by our presence.
Working for Peace in Israel – Women’s Activism Against War Culture
Sunday, October 30, 2005. Talk by Israeli peace activist, Dr. Diana Dolev of New Profile and Women In Black Israel, attended by members of the Frederick community and friends and activists from around the region. Sponsored by WIB Frederick, and the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Frederick Friends Meeting.
Donations accepted to support the work of New Profile. http://www.newprofile.org/UStour2005.html
Dr. Dolev's talks are introducing U.S. audiences to the feminist, anti-militarist work of New Profile in Israel/Palestine, highlighting crucial links between U.S. militarization and militarization in Israel/Palestine, clarifying connections between Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (the latter still under Israeli control) and the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. New Profile, a central player in the Israeli anti-militarist and refuser movements, hopes to strengthen ties with parallel groups in the U.S.A. and to raise vital funds for ongoing work.
Dr. Diana Dolev teaches at two schools of design in Israel and researches the connections between national identity and architecture. Her PhD dissertation analyzed the militarization of the Mt. Scopus campus of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.
She has been an activist since 1980 when she facilitated a group of Palestinian and Jewish students at the “Education for Peace” program at Ben Gurion University, Beer Sheva, later introducing the curriculum into six high schools in Israel. In 1987, Diana established a branch of the Association for Civil Rights (ACRI) in Beer Sheva then going on to found the “Gaza Team,” which petitioned Israeli authorities against human rights violations in the Gaza Strip. The team collected detailed testimonies and succeeded in exposing Israeli atrocities in the mainstream media.
Since initiating a weekly Women in Black vigil in Beer Sheva in 1988, Diana has been consistently active with WIB, most recently as a member of the organizing committee of the August 2005 international WIB conference in Jerusalem. Diana has been a member of New Profile since the founding event in 1998, mainly focusing her work with New Profile in the educational team. Dr. Dolev’s U.S. speaking tour is sponsored by the Refusers Solidarity Network and the Youth & Militarism Program of the American Friends Service Committee, with additional support from Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR).
Vigil to mark the 2000th reported US military death. 2000 too many deaths. 200 Billion too many dollars. The 2000th death was announced on Tuesday afternoon, October 25th, 2005. A day later, we were one of over 1350 vigils in 50 states honoring those who have died, and calling for our leaders to take a different path forward.
80 women, men and children of Frederick joined thousands across the nation in a solemn and silent candlelight vigil on Wednesday October 26th, 2005, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. We assembled a memorial on the steps of a bank in the city square, and placed a pair of combat boots, and 50 pairs of civilian shoes, with flowers and poetry, to honor each U.S. military life lost, and the estimated 50 Iraqi lives lost for each U.S. soldier. We placed the names of the 2000 fallen soldiers, the 31 from Maryland, and names of 3000 of the Iraqi dead next to the shoes. and projected the AFSC video "Wage Peace", on the side of a nearby building for the entire hour. The sound from the video, names of the fallen, and music, was audible where we held candles and signs on each of the four corners of the square.
Report from one attendee, in a Frederick News Post reader's forum
National March on Washington to End the War in Iraq.
Saturday September 24, 2005.
Women in Black Frederick joined many others from Frederick to bring our voices and presence to the march. WIB from some 12 vigils met at 14th and Constitution, amid some 150,000 others from around the country. There were forty-five of us from Arizona, Michigan, Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts, New York State, New York City, Maryland and DC who vigiled and marched together throughout the day. Many of us met at days end to network and do some planning for better national communication, perhaps another regional conference, and a more up to date national website......
UN International Day of Peace, September 21, 2005. A special vigil followed by a report back from Andrea on her trip to Israel and the occupied territories, and the Women In Black International Conference.
From the UN day of peace website: "To encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September 2005 in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world."
This global 24-hour spiritual observation for peace is meant to demonstrate the power of prayer and other spiritual practices in promoting peace and preventing violent conflict. These worldwide spiritual observances will also help raise public awareness of the International Day of Peace and directly support the establishment of a global ceasefire.
"To save a single life is to save the world entire" --The Talmud
"Violence is unworthy of humanity." --Pope John Paul II
"Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace." --Buddha
"All throughout history the way of truth and love has always won." --Mohandas Gandhi
September 11, 2005. WIB Frederick stood with WIB Baltimore at their 3rd annual Peace Path, joining the many others seeking an image of peace on this anniversary of 9/11. (http://peacepath911.com/) . Later, we held a vigil at the American Friends Service Committee "Eyes Wide Open: the Human Cost of War" exhibit, installed that day at Johns Hopkins. (http://www.afsc.org/eyes/default.htm)
Vigil in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan: Candlelight vigil in support of Cindy, and mourning the loss of lives in Iraq. Wednesday, August 17th. We were gratified to be joined by almost 60 members of the Frederick community in this witness, as one of more than 1600 vigils, and with 100,000 people around the country.
Counting the cost of war flyer 8/17/05
Hiroshima Day, 60th Anniversary Observance. From Wednesday, August 5 vigil. We remember and mourn the suffering of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 60 years ago, and consider the nuclear threat we all continue to live under.
2005 Hiroshima Day Vigil Announcement
Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land
Film and Discussion, July 6, 2005
About the Film:
Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported.
Told through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how the use of language, framing and context can affect how the news is presented. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics.
Counter-Recruitment Initiative:
If you’ve been reading the papers lately you may have been dismayed by the allegations emerging regarding fraudulent, coercive and deceitful recruitment practices by our military. A number of faith based, peace and justice and veteran groups have been notifying their members about these practices and calling for actions to protect and inform our youth about their rights and alternatives.
We participated in a community Hispanic Fiesta on June 25th, 2005, by providing information on alternatives to the military, and issues for youth to be concerned about when considering enlistment.
If you are interested in this issue or would like to get involved in any future actions, please email info@wibfrederick.org .
WIB Frederick makes a Call for Public Dialogue: Speaking to expansion of Biodefense facilities at Fort Detrick.
Fort Detrick is the historic home to the nation’s biological warfare research and development. It is in the process of undergoing an unprecedented expansion. While originally located in a sparsely populated area, Ft. Detrick is now in the middle of a densely populated community – our community. The imminent expansion at Fort Detrick and the revival of biological weapons research raises many safety and other concerns.
Issue and WIB Frederick position statement (pdf - 180kb):
We held vigils on this important local, national and international concern and co-sponsored the rally and march organized by the Frederick Progressive Action Coalition on June 5th, 2005.
Mother’s Day 2005 Vigil in remembrance of the people of Peace Community of San José de Apartadó in northwest Colombia, murdered in Februrary 2005.
In the spirit of Mother’s Day for Peace, vigils were conducted all across the U.S. in solidarity with the people of Peace Community of San José de Apartadó in northwest Colombia. The community, established in 1997, has been described as a project of civilians who want to live apart from all the armed actors. This decision has cost them 152 deaths, 137 perpetrated by the army and the paramilitaries and 15 by the guerillas. Since 1998 the Peace Community has had the accompaniment of the International Peace Brigades and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. In February 2005, eight members of the community, including community leader, Luis Eduardo, women and young children, were killed by armed men who reportedly identified themselves as members of the Colombian army.
Women In Black Frederick stands in silence and in mourning in remembrance of these dear lost lives. We reach out to our sisters and brothers in Colombia in their struggle for peace, justice and the right to live in their homes and communities without the threat of violence. We join them in their call for the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for these brutal murders. We call on the U.S. government to suspend all funding for military activities in Colombia, halt all weapon sales to Colombia, and call for a full investigation of the charges of violence and human rights abuses allegedly committed by the Colombian military.
For more information on this issue:
Fellowship Of Reconciliation at http://forusa.org/programs/colombia/
Peace in Colombia.org at http://www.peaceincolombia.org/
Amnesty International at http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/colombia/actions.do
January 2005—we coordinated the East coast WIB presence at the 2005 Presidential Inauguration. Twenty-five of us, from Maine to New York to the DC Metro area walked with banners, in silence, and also singing, during the counter-Inauguration events. We spent the afternoon in silent vigil in front of the American Friends Service Committee exhibition “Eyes Wide Open”, a powerful commemoration of the human cost of the Iraq war.
At the AFSC Eyes Wide Open Exhibit: Fellowship of Reconciliation Iraq Photo Project,
Counter-Inauguration January 2005; With WIB New York City.
Love Wisdom Honor
Wishes for Leaders
Grace Understanding Peace
--From WIB Frederick Vigil Banner